Ballina Croquet Club’s final exclusive playing day at Cherry Street descended into alleged abuse, with two members now facing potential lifetime bans.

The incident marks a dramatic escalation in the long-running dispute over the future of croquet in Ballina, just ahead of an extraordinary council meeting called by Kiri Dicker to try and force the club to reverse its decision to restructure playing arrangements.

Despite claims of having more than 80 members, fewer than 20 players attended the highly publicised event.

The so-called “final day” also drew political attention, including Cr Dicker, her fellow Greens councillor Simon Chate and NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann.

Tensions flared when club members attached a protest banner to the Cherry Street Sports Club fence.

Well-known staff member Paul “Bluey” McDermott approached those involved and asked for the banner to be removed.

What followed is alleged to have been a heated verbal altercation, with Cherry Street management claiming staff were subjected to abuse.

The incident was captured on security cameras, which Ballina News Daily has viewed.

Cherry Street Sports Club general manager Tere Sheehan said he would recommend to the board that two members be banned for life.

“My staff are a no-go zone for abuse and I won’t stand for it,” Mr Sheehan told Ballina News Daily.

Paul ‘Bluey’ McDermott (photo:Facebook/Cherry St Sports)

He later added in a public post: “The abuse my staff members received this morning was totally unacceptable.”

Ballina News Daily understands one of the players identified in the incident is long-time club member Mary Hughes.

Mr Sheehan said Cherry Street had consistently made clear that all Ballina Croquet Club members would be welcome to continue playing under a new unified model, which will allow access to the lawns six days a week.

However, he indicated that would not extend to those involved in the alleged abuse.

The incident has struck a nerve within the club, particularly given the standing of Mr McDermott within the local community.

Mr McDermott has previously been awarded Northern Rivers Barman of the Year and Ballina Business Awards Employee of the Year.

Mr Sheehan described him as “a man who makes everyone’s life a joy just by being around him”.

Cr Kiri Dicker (photo Facebook/Kiri Dicker)

Dicker channels dead grandmother

The dispute quickly spilled onto social media, where Cr Dicker defended her decision to call the extraordinary meeting.

In a Facebook post, she cited her late grandmother as motivation.

“My gran, Kath Johnstone, now passed, used to visit us from New Zealand with her croquet mallet… and play with the Ballina Croquet Club,” she wrote.

“There is no way she’d stand for a corporate sports club seeking to evict a community-based club. She would tell me to do everything I can to stop it.”

Cr Dicker also responded directly to Mr Sheehan in the comments.

“These people are all 60+ for goodness sake. Some of the kindest and most placid people I have met — grow up,” she wrote.

The exchange has raised questions about the tone of public commentary from elected officials, particularly when directed at identifiable members of the local community.

Mr Sheehan is a well-known and long-standing figure in Ballina, and the head of a major community sporting organisation.

Local government codes of conduct require councillors to treat others with respect in their public communications, including on social media.

The extraordinary meeting, supported by councillors Therese Crollick and Simon Chate, is set to begin with a public forum at 4pm.

It will debate the future of croquet at the Cherry Street facility, despite council having no authority to direct the licensed operator to change its decision.

Cherry Street has maintained the sport will continue under a unified structure, with expanded access for players.

With positions now hardened, the confrontation on the greens — and the war of words that followed — sets the stage for what is shaping as a volatile council meeting.